The present invention relates to an electric connector, and, more specifically, to a miniature, female electric connector provided with a contact holding mechanism by which the female contact can be held in a connector housing.
Generally, it is necessary that the female contact of a connector of this type be prevented from slipping out of a connector housing when it is mated with a male connector. For this reason, conventional connectors are constructed such that the contact is formed with, for example, a claw or click piece, while an engaging portion with which to engage the click piece is formed in the housing so that the contact can be engagedly held in the housing.
With respect to the prior art connectors, when a male pin is force-fitted into a pin receiving portion of the contact, the contact is prevented from coming out of the housing. It is, however, extremely difficult to prevent the contact from skewing in the housing. Thus, conventional connectors are subject to such drawbacks as contact deformation, contact fault between pin and contact, etc.
As means of eliminating these drawbacks, a pair of click pieces, extending in different directions, may, for example, be formed on the contact so that one of the two click pieces engages with a portion of the ceiling of the housing and the other engages with a portion of the floor of the housing. Provision of a pair of click pieces, however, makes it much more difficult to insert the connector into the housing at the time of assembly than in the case where the contact has a single click piece.